Upgrading the Alienware M11X Gaming Netbook for use in 2022 

I believe googone might get the rubberized coated plastic off. Also try a magic eraser, that usually scrubs anything off.

want to ask whats the best replacement for our hard disk i wanted to upgrade it for 2022 it working fine but i heard that hard disk a limit of years that why i want to replace it to extend the life of my m11x r1..thanks

and also the battery are there any new battery compatible with our m11x..the brand as of now is samsung

@@shalltearbloodfallen5697 I haven't seen new Samsung batteries for it in a long time, unfortunately. There are some aftermarket ones available, but I haven't tried any of them, so I couldn't specifically vouch for one.

I have an M11x R1 from release day which is still in pristine Day 1 condition in 2023. I used it a lot but I babied the hell out of it and never actually used it anywhere other than my desk. I never used the keyboard or trackpad either and always covered it with a see through sheet of plastic. I guess I was weird back then with my stuff but the end result is a factory new looking M11x in the current day, hahah. I used to clean the M11x each day with a micro fibre cloth too to ensure there was no dust on it. I brought it out from storage recently and installed FireFox which allows the M11x to browse the web as well as it did in ‘10. I used it to Netflix binge a documentary over the last 2 days. It’s back in the cupboard now… I may remove the battery later this year so I can preserve the thing into the far future.

Definitely going to have to track down an R3. I've heard nothing but good things!

Which company sells the components?

​@@magicskaterboiSnake Oil & Co

I really want one, any chance you'll sell?

I recommend u to try Alienware m13x with GeForce 960m. This is fairytale

Sounds like your machine is seeing plenty of attention! I love to hear that! And thanks for watching

Thanks man! And awesome to see you here!

Very nice! My wife worked in the appliance section at Future Shop back then, so I would see this beauty on display multiple times a week and couldn't help myself. And keep an eye for a certain blue ZG5 popping up on the channel. I went from the EeePC to it, and had a lot of fun with it. Sounds like you got great use out of yours!

So kind of you! Yeah, I have pulled this alienware out lots since I "retired" it plenty of fun when I got it originally, and surprisingly capable for things like basic 3d modeling. Seriously though.. thanks for watching!

I've definitely always had a soft spot for compact pieces of tech. This thing fit the bill perfectly

Awesome to hear so many stories of decade old Alienware machines still carrying their weight and holding their own!

Glad you enjoyed it! It's a fantastic machine to use. Always been a fan of small machines.

I had my hinges pop twice and had a Dell technician visit my home and replace the screen twice. The hinges I have now are flawless.

Glad to hear about one that's been so thoroughly loved and thoroughly taken care of!

Always glad to hear about how much other people have enjoyed this design of machine. Small, powerful, fun... just makes me happy

I haven't tried for sure but, without TPM support, Windows 10 is the highest it will go officially. I didn't check all the drivers, but the GPU is supported in Windows 10, so it should be good!

My intel atom n570 netbook still works fine, probably use it as my main laptop since I accidentally spilled water on my core i7 laptop (it's dead!), thinking about buying alienware m11x

Sooner or later I will find a replacement shell and get it back to its former glory. It certainly deserves it, it has served me well!

The boot time is under a minute now. It's not a direct comparison because the original drive did have a bit of bloatware in it, but everything just feels quicker now. Very happy with the upgrade.

It might be! I'll have to check the next time I've got it apart

Bro, what mhz did you upgrade your ram to? I bought 1600mhz sticks but think I shoulda gotten 1333mhz, if it even matters

@@littledoodle5689 hey mine is 1600 too, doesn't matter it will down clock to 1333. Just installed Intel N7260 dual wireless 5G card (plug & play) now get 300mbps speed on this old bugger. Make sure to get one labeled "dual wireless" as another N7260 only does 2.4G. Found out the hard way.

I love it, too! It was quick and dirty and got me back up and running for about 4 dollars, so I call it a win

@@PNPRetro Now I need to figure out how to do a fresh install of windows 7, the original version I have has so much malware it's in dire need of a refresh

Haha. I mean... it'll run the original Doom... even Doom II, if you leave the window open to cool the CPU on a cold night

That's exactly what it is, the Core2Duo on this is awful compared to even the i5 you could get. The i7 version was a beast in a small format, but I had the i5 version and definitely was playing Skyrim on it, same with fallout etc.

If you are happy with Windows 10 performance on it, it is a more capable operating system at this point. Windows 7 will be faster, but also way more out of date.

@@PNPRetro wow, didnt expect a reply. Thanks! I did a windows 10 reset, it’s working a bit faster now 😊

I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment! I hope it continues to serve you well

​​@@milcahwaygalaxy don't forget to disable background processes and autostart ups, that will be working a bit faster.

Sounds great! Moving off of the Core2 processors was a huge boost. Hope to snag one at some point, too

That's a pretty awesome laptop, especially for the time period.

I had to rewind to catch that one. Very nice.

@@thecodeprofessor when I watched it the first time, before that clip, I was like...you...you did that 🤣🤣🤣

Ugh that's terrible! No power at all or fails to boot to windows?

@@PNPRetro fails to boot windows.

Haha. Keep it running as long as you can! Any upgrades?

@@PNPRetro I get some good fps in minecraft and upgraded it to a core i7

Ahh, you must have the one that's a year or two newer. This one doesn't have a replaceable CPU. I believe both the R2 and R3 had socketed CPUs. Sounds like you are showing it some love!

Great point! The thermal paste on the CPU was fresh (I tested the board before committing to the build) but I definitely forgot to pull the fan off and clean it out. Likewise, I will definitely re-apply for the GPU. Thanks for the suggestions!

Hey, totally fair, it's always good to know the limitations of the integrated display.

I should be able to link you to them. Which version of Windows?

@@PNPRetro oh i've gone from windows 7 to windows 10 cause I couldn't get passed the sign in password. but I don't believe any drivers support above windows 7

@@yt-dman I could never get this system to not blue screen on windows 10. Only works properly on 7.

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Hey, I've been surprised by how capable older i5 and i7 processors have been. My most recent build on the channel (a Star Trek Shuttle PC) uses an i5 4460, with a GTX650, and it's been able to handle basic browsing, a decent amount of gaming, a weekly project livestream, and even 3D modeling in Fusion 360. Overall, it's kind of impressive that it's still better than functional after almost ten years.

The Optifine mod has been recommended to me to increase FPS on older machines. Gonna give it a try and see how it goes!

@@PNPRetro because you asked. My M11X is one of the very first R3. It has a i7-2617M, 8GB RAM, the 1GB version of the 540M and a 1TB HDD. I run it on Windows 10 Pro. If you use it as a daily driver windows 7 isn't recommend due to security reasons. I like my mighty little beast. Suits my very mobile needs, still in mint condition. I use it to surf the web, sometimes I play Minecraft on it and to cut 1080p drone videos on the go. I think of tweaking it with a unlocked Bios, maybe raise RAM to 16 and to fit a 250 SSD.

Ahh man, I'd love to get my hands on one with an i7! The Core 2 Duo at the core of mine was always a little behind the times. Overall, I think mine is still my favorite out of all the computers I have owned. Windows 7 definitely isn't the best from a security standpoint anymore. I'm keeping an eye out for a cheap copy of Windows 10 and am going to keep working on getting Minecraft working better on it. My nephews visit from time to time, and it would be fun if we could all play together. Sounds like your r3 is seeing a lot of love. I hope it continues to serve you faithfully

There are 3 different types of i7 for the latest R3. The first ones with a 2617M, some models sent to journalists had a 2657M and the latest a 2637M which has +200Mhz on idle and Turbo compared with mine. And the later ones all had 2GB RAM version of the 540M. I would really like to find out if this is recognizeable in real life, or only for benchmarks... a motherboard upgrade would be possible for me... but it's mad what people call for a 11 year old hardware?!?! ... maybe you could make a topic on overclocking. Yours would work easily, unfortunatly the later sandy bridge models like mine have their multiplier locked. I never found a way to tweak up to 2637M specs...

@@PNPRetro Today i was playing around a little with my m11x, and when i had a look at cpu-z i realised I was always wrong about the VRAM. I do have a 2GB 540M ;-) Some games really use it. For example CS:GO uses around 1,6 GB VRAM, says MSI. But CPU and GPU are around 80°C when playing.... i sould really repaste it. What thermal paste would you guys suggest? I dont want to use liquid metal, only thermal paste please.

I played the hell out of that game, and Gunbound! Which character was your favorite to play?

@@PNPRetro i played as a blacksmith on ragnarok and i like using the bommerang on the gunbound 😊😊😊

There's a mobile version of Gunbound now, too! I started playing again. Feels pretty close to me

@@PNPRetro really,will try to download it..may i ask if the samsung evo 870 compatible with the m11x?..my reason for replacing it is so i can use it as a bank for the tons of photos and videos of life events cause im targeting the faster read and write..is it worth it?

@@shalltearbloodfallen5697 Sorry about the delay in reply, I somehow missed yours. I think pretty much any available sata ssd should be compatible withe the m11x. Performance-wise, it does offer quite a boost. You'll still be slowed down by the processor, but upgrading to an SSD has definitely given me a good quality of life boost for it.

Will definitely give it a shot!

As the original owner, I was fine with it.

May it serve you well!